Feature: How Norwegians use their time

We are also less at home than in 1980, and instead we spend more time travelling and in public places.

We are one hour more alone per day in 2000 than we were in 1990. These are average numbers based on all days within a whole year. Sleep is regarded as being alone. Men are more alone than women.

The children are least alone per day. Girls are a bit more alone than boys. The young ones are also less alone than others, while the old people are most alone. The young are least together with their household members.

We are more alone when we are on travel than when we are in other places. We are more together with others when we are doing leisure activities than other activities. We are alone half of the time we are at work. Men are more alone at work than women are.

Compared to 1980 we are less at home in 2000, but there has not been any decline between 1990 and 2000. Time at home has especially decreased among women. Children are less at home than adults. Old people are at home almost 19 hours on an average day

Fewer are in another's home in 2000 than in 1990. Visiting contact with relatives, friends and neighbours has declined. Young people visit others to a greater degree than others do. Older people use more time in their country houses than others do.

A larger part of the population spend time in public places and on travel in 2000 than before. Women are half an hour more at their working place or school in 2000 compared with 1980.

When we are on travel, private cars are the most important means of transportation. The percentage using a car has increased considerably between 1980 and 2000. The time we are sitting in the car has on the other hand stayed at the same level in this period. There has been a levelling out between men's and women's car travelling in these years. We find the largest increase in car travelling among the older people.

There have been only minor changes in the use of public transport and walking when we travel from one place to another. On average, 17 percent travelled by public transportation per day in 2000, while one out of three walk on foot when they are moving to different destinations.

In the time-use-surveys, being together with someone means that the persons stay together at the same place and that there is a certain degree of contact between them.

Women are much more together with their own small children than men are. This difference is evened out when the children grow older.

There has been a gradual tendency that we go to sleep later at night from 1980 to 2000. Television viewing has at the same time become more spread over the day and evening. There have been only minor shifts in what period of the day we have our meals, and when we travel to and from our place of work.

Saturday morning is the period of the week when most people do their housekeepingwork.

(Statistics Norway)
Rolleiv Solholm